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Baby hardly pooping

My baby is now 4 weeks old and is ebf. He went from having major blowouts almost everyday to hardly pooping at all in the last week! He has only had 2 bms in the last 5 days. He wets at least 10+ diapers a day and passes lots of gas. Doesn't fuss like he is constipated, but I am still worried that it is a sign he is not getting enough milk. He has also been gaining weight very well too.

The lack of bms is the only sign that he may not be getting enough milk. Should I supplement with formula or be worried about the lack of bms??

Re: Baby hardly pooping

Welcome to the forum!

At around 6 weeks, sometimes a little earlier, some exclusively breastfed babies start pooping as infrequently as once a week. Breastmilk is digested so thoroughly that little waste is left over. As long as the baby's weight gain and pee output remains normal, this is a normal variation and is nothing to worry about. (The same is not true of formula-fed babies, since formula is much more difficult to digest. A formula-fed baby who isn't pooping once a day or thereabouts may be becoming constipated.)

Although a breastfed baby may poop infrequently, it is almost unheard of for an EBF baby to become constipated. When your baby does poop, the poops are probably quite soft (and voluminous! When my older daughter started pooping infrequently, the poops she did produce were diaper-busters!), and soft poops aren't constipation poops. When a baby is constipated- something that often happens after the introduction of solids- the poops will be pellet-like and hard enough to roll right off the diaper if you pick it up, and the baby will be in obvious discomfort when pooping (crying or screaming, turning bright red with effort).

Re: Baby hardly pooping

Hi mama, I looked this up for you in the new Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple book. Until 6 weeks, EBF babies should have at least 4 quarter-sized stools per 24 hours. It also says that "Although stools are not a reliable stand-alone indicator of milk intake, they can be used as a general guage between weight checks in the baby younger than 6 weeks" (232).

I guess my advice, given that this is the only sign of trouble, is to watch for a few more days and reevaluate. To be conservative, you might want to get another weight check (I assume he got one at 4 weeks? so maybe at 5 or 6 weeks - should be able to just drop in to pedi's office for this). At 6 weeks, stools can drop dramatically.

Re: Baby hardly pooping

I'm seconding what mommal said... I found both dd1 and dd2 changed poop habits a few times in the 4-8 week timeframe. The books do say 6 weeks but that is a guideline. If your babe is otherwise happy/healthy, like it sounds like from your description, then I'd be aware but not worried.

Re: Baby hardly pooping

I agree with everyone-this could be something but likely it is nothing. If you are concerned baby is not getting enough get a weight check sooner rather than later but no need to obsessively weigh baby, the tons of pees is reassuring imo.

Certainly no need to supplement a well gaining baby no matter how infrequently they poop!

One thing you can pretty much rule out in an ebf baby is constipation.

Re: Baby hardly pooping

Thank you all! I feel less worried about it now. Baby is nursing a little less in duration, but I think that is due to him becoming More efficient with feeding. He still feeds frequently and never goes more than 3 hours without nursing. He eats mostly every 2 hours during the daytime.

He is my first so it's so hard not to worry when things change! Thanks again.

Re: Baby hardly pooping

Generally, a baby this age would be nursing about 10-12 times per 24 hour day at a minimum. If your baby is nursing slightly less than that but gaining well, that is likely totally fine. If he is nursing much less than that I would be a bit concerned. It may be every such and such hours but usually the pattern is very frequent nursing part of the time with a couple of longer stretches here and there. Yes as baby gets bigger and better at latching and suckling then nursing sessions may well shorten, that is normal, as long as baby is setting the time not mom.